


Sister's Keeper

by theskywasblue



Series: Inception Domestic AU [14]
Category: Inception
Genre: Alternate Universe: Domestic, M/M, POV Outsider, Sibling Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-21
Updated: 2014-03-21
Packaged: 2018-01-16 11:12:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,268
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1345366
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theskywasblue/pseuds/theskywasblue
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Charlie looks out for Izzie</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sister's Keeper

One thing Charlie knows for sure is that Izzie is tough. She might be only six, but she’s way tougher than Charlie was when he was her age. Like, when Charlie was six, if someone said something mean to him, he would probably just cry and tell his dads; but if someone says something mean to Izzie, there’s pretty much a one hundred percent chance they’re going to get kicked in the shin (which Papa always tells her she shouldn’t do - and Dad pretends to agree with him, even though he secretly agrees with Izzie that sometimes the only way to deal with _those kind of people_ is to show them you’re not going to put up with them.)

Of course, Charlie knows that Papa supports methods _other_ than physical violence, which are actually way scarier, but less immediate.

The point is, most stuff that would drive Charlie around the bend rolls right off Izzie like water off a duck’s back; so when he sees her crying in the hallway at school, he knows something is really wrong.

Now, Charlie is in seventh grade, which is completely at the opposite end of the school from Izzie’s classroom, but Mr. Mills asked him to take the attendance sheet down to the office, so Charlie is hiking down the hallway, enjoying a rare moment of early-morning freedom from the confines of his desk, and there is his sister, sitting by the first grade shoe rack, with her head down in her knees, sobbing.

“Izzie?” He scrambles down on the floor beside her, abandoning the attendance list like so much garbage into a puddle left by someone’s boots. “Izzie, what’s wrong?”

She lifts her head, face all red and splotchy from crying, lunges forward and latches on to Charlie, burying her face in his neck.

“She took my pendant!” Izzie sobs. “She took it and wouldn’t give it back, even when I asked nice!”

Charlie knows the pendant she’s talking about - their nan gave it to Izzie when she visited last. It’s Izzie’s most precious possession, and she hates to take it off; but there’s a very strict no jewlery policy at the school - watches are the only exemption. Dad must have forgotten to spot-check Izzie before she got on the bus; or she smuggled it out under her shirt.

“Who took it?”

“Miss Burnet! I said I would put it in my bag, but she said ‘no’ and she was going to keep until home-time, but what if she doesn’t give it back _ever_?”

Miss Burnet _will_ give it back, Charlie knows this. He also knows that rules are rules, and that he shouldn’t really be challenging a teacher’s authority; but Izzie is crying - and he can’t walk away and leave her like that. His dads would never forgive him.

“C’mon,” he says, taking his little sister’s hand. “Let’s go talk to her.”

He walks with Izzie to the door of the classroom, and knocks politely on the doorframe. Izzie’s class is busy practicing their letters, with Miss Burnet standing at the head of the class, directing them. Charlie doesn’t know much about Miss Burnet, except that she always looks angry about something, and she doesn’t like nicknames. When she sees Charlie standing in the doorway, she says, “Charles, can I help you with something?”

Charlie’s heart is beating so fast he can feel his ribs rattling, but he swallows it down and forces himself to speak. “Could you give Izzie her necklace back, please?”

Miss Burnet’s face is thin, and serious. When she presses her lips together, they practically disappear. “Isabelle can have her necklace back at the end of the day. And she can come back to class if she is ready to stop causing a disruption.”

“Please,” Charlie repeats, feeling his shoulders trembling. “She just wants to put it in her backpack.”

“The rules are that no one wears jewelry in class.”

“But they don’t say anything about keeping it in your backpack.”

Miss Burnet doesn’t respond immediately, but Charlie is aware that the whole class is watching them. “My classroom,” she says at last. “My rules.”

“But it’s _her_ necklace.”

“That doesn’t matter to me.”

Charlie feels his face getting hot with anger. He can see Izzie’s necklace sitting out in the open, right in the middle of Miss Burnet’s desk, so he lets go of his sister’s hand, marches right across the classroom, and takes it.

And that is how Charlie ends up outside the Principal’s office before it’s even time for morning recess.

He knows they’re going to call his dad. What he doesn’t expect is for Dad _and_ Papa to show up at the school.

He’s doomed. Really, seriously doomed.

They spend about twenty minutes in the principal’s office without Charlie. There’s no yelling or anything - but his dads aren’t really yellers. Papa will sometimes raise his voice when he gets _really_ angry, but Dad does the exact opposite and gets very quiet. When they come out of the office, Papa says, “Why don’t you go get Izzie?” to Dad, and then walks over to Charlie’s chair and says, “Let’s go home.”

On the ride home, no one talks; not even Izzie, who normally never shuts up. By the time they get to the house, Charlie is practically paralyzed with fear over how much trouble he must be in. When they get inside, Dad tells Izzie to go change out of her school clothes and play in her room for a while. Papa tells Charlie to sit at the kitchen table, while he and Dad stand there and do that thing they do sometimes where they talk to each other without saying a word. The silence is suffocating. Charlie wants to say that he didn’t mean to get in trouble, but he knows better than to say anything before his dads are ready to listen.

Finally, Dad says, “Do you want to take point on this, or should I?”

Papa makes a go ahead motion with one hand, so Dad takes a long, deep breath that puffs out his wide chest, rubs a palm over his bearded chin, and breathes out slowly. After what feels like forever he says, “Charlie - sometimes, we have to obey the rules, even when the rules are rubbish.”

“Eames…” Papa sighs, and Dad says, “What?” to which Papa only sighs again.

“That being said,” Dad continues. “No one in this house is going to punish you for breaking a rubbish rule.”

“But,” Papa chimes in. “Next time, if Izzie is having a problem at school, you tell us. Don’t try and take care of it yourself.”

Charlie nods, anxiously licking his lips. “So...I’m not in trouble?”

“No.” Dad says, and Papa adds, “Not this time.”

“Now you’re just being dramatic, Arthur.”

Charlie sees the corner of Papa’s mouth quirk, and knows he’s off the hook, if he plays his cards right. “Can I go to my room, now?”

Dad squeezes his shoulder. “Sure, sprog. Back to school tomorrow, and we’ll play like this never happened, yeah? Clean slate.”

Charlie gets out of his chair and heads for his room, but Papa catches him as he walks by, pulling him into a quick hug.

“You did a good job looking out for your sister,” he says, one hand on Charlie’s back and the other smoothing through his hair. For a moment, Charlie is too surprised to move - Papa is all about rules, after all; he almost never lets Charlie get away with anything - but then Charlie puts his arms around him and squeezes with all his might.

-End-


End file.
